


Never Any Credit

by WriterFreak001



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Albion, Arthurian legend - Freeform, Bromance, F/M, Gen, Some Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-04-03 09:58:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4096669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterFreak001/pseuds/WriterFreak001
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin saves King Arthur’s life – again. Just a small, funny story placed somewhere within the fifth season before everything went to hell. At most, this story will have five short chapters (maybe more; maybe less). Mostly a bromance fic between Arthur & Merlin, but there will be some Arthur & Gwen fluff as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Any Credit

**WriterFreak001:**

I started watching _Merlin_ again on Netflix and am almost done with the fifth season!! Anyway, I’ve never written a _Merlin_ fanfiction story before so this might be a little shoddy, but I wanted to give it a go anyway. :)

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 **Title** | Never Any Credit

 **Fandom** | _Merlin_ (BBC)

 **Description** | Merlin saves King Arthur’s life – again. Just a small, funny story placed somewhere within the fifth season before everything went to hell. At most, this story will have five short chapters (maybe more; maybe less).

 **Rating** | To be on the safe side, this fanfiction is rated T.

 **POV** | Limited Third Person

 **Disclaimer** | While BBC owns **_Merlin_** , I am the owner of this masterpiece.

 **Claimer** | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something _should_ be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can’t guarantee if I’ll change it every time, but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!

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** Never Any Credit **

**Written by WriterFreak001**

** **

** Chapter 1 **

**~ MERLIN ~**

_In a land of myth, and a time of magic…, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young man._

_His name…._

_Merlin…._

…

Sometimes, it was tiring for Merlin to carry the weight of Albion on his back every time Arthur’s life was in danger, but the young warlock knew his master was destined for greatness. King Arthur… the once and future king… was a good man – an annoying prat at times – but, for the most part, a good man. When Merlin was first appointed by the late King Uthur as Arthur’s manservant, Merlin hated Arthur. Even when he was only the prince of Camelot, Arthur was relentless. He made Merlin muck out the stables on more than one occasion, needlessly polish his boots and his armor and do pretty much whatever else he ordered him to do. To constantly conceal his true self and carry the weight of Camelot’s future on his shoulders as well as protect a particular royal clot pole, Merlin had grown weary over the years, but his magic was all-powerful. Many who know his _other_ name fear him. Others, like the Druids, respect him. He was a beacon in the world of magic, and only a selected few knew of his great power.

Morgana was growing stronger day by day, and it didn’t seem to matter what Merlin did to try to stop her; she always found a way to return and make his and the king’s lives miserable. Yet…, in spite of Morgana’s craft, Merlin had an advantage; she still didn’t know he had magic. His true name – Emrys – haunted her, and Merlin was determined to continue fooling everyone into thinking he was nothing more than a servant. He hated hiding, but hiding was what kept him alive. It’s what kept him safe from Morgana. If hiding his magic would keep Arthur safe, then he would gladly keep up his charades for the sake of the king. One day, things were going to change.

Merlin could wait for one day.

“Merlin!” the king shouted as he threw his boot at him, forcing the warlock to tear himself away from the window and approach Arthur. “Stop gawking and get over here! I don’t have all day!”  

Merlin gulped. “Y-yes sire!” The warlock briskly walked over to Arthur and helped his master dress for the upcoming tournament. Merlin worked fast and secured everything, making sure Arthur was fit for fighting.

“You’re unusually quiet, Merlin,” Arthur said as Merlin handed him his sword.

“Just thinking. That’s all.” Merlin shrugged and then walked over to Arthur’s helmet, picked it up and then placed it into the king’s right hand.

“About what?”

“Nothing.” Merlin mumbled.

“Come on now,” Arthur rolled his eyes, “Out with it.”

“It’s nothing,” was all Merlin would say. He knew better than to state his concerns about Arthur participating in the tournament this afternoon; the king was a stubborn man and wouldn’t back down from a fight for anything – not even if Merlin suspected magic to be involved (that particular knowledge might encourage Arthur to fight even more which was a risk Merlin wasn’t willing to take).

“Nothing. Really.” Arthur pursed his lips and leaned against the center table of his bedroom. Merlin didn’t need eyes on the back of his head to know Arthur was watching him as he tended to the king’s bed. “And you expect me to believe you.”

“Absolutely not,” Merlin glanced at his friend. “I just know what you’re going to say so why bother?”

“Ha!” Arthur exclaimed, taking a step towards Merlin. “And how do _you_ know what I’m going to say?”

“Because you’re boring and predictable,” Merlin deadpanned, preparing himself for anything the king might throw at him.

“I’m boring,” Arthur cocked an eyebrow, “and predictable?”

“Yes, sire.” Merlin mumbled, returning his attention to Arthur’s bedsheets. “Though,” Merlin chuckled, “I have to admit, you’re not as boring as your father once was – may he rest in peace – so I’ll give you _that_ much credit.”  

“I should send you to the stocks for insulting both me and my father so blatantly,” Arthur stopped in his tracks and frowned.

Merlin grinned as he turned towards the king. “You won’t, though.”

“Oh? And why not?”

“Because without me,” Merlin folded his arms across his chest, “you survive out there in that tournament today.”

“Oh, believe me. I think I would manage.” Arthur rolled his eyes as Merlin picked up the king’s cape and fastened it to his armor. “You’re not exactly a knight, Merlin.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised of what I can do.” Merlin blinked. “I am a man of many talents.”

“Humor being one of them,” Arthur retorted as a knock sounded on the door. “Merlin,” Arthur waved him away, “See who it is.”

Without questioning the king, Merlin sauntered away from Arthur, but before he approached the door, the queen slipped into the room and gently pushed the door closed. “Arthur,” Guinevere gracefully floated towards her husband after briefly acknowledging Merlin’s presence with a fleeting glance, “The tournament is expected to start soon; are you ready?”

Arthur flicked his eyes towards Merlin, and the young warlock nodded in approval. The king smiled at his wife. “Indeed.”

“Good. We don’t want to keep the people waiting too much longer.” The queen wrapped her arms around Arthur’s neck and leaned in to kiss him.

Merlin quickly looked away but remained in the room, awaiting further instructions from the king. As he made his way back to the window across from the door, he stumbled over Arthur’s boot and accidently knocked over the vase of flowers Arthur had gotten Gwen for their anniversary last week. Before he had a chance to keep it from falling, the metal vase clanked against the stone and water and flowers were all over the floor.

“Merlin!” Arthur shouted as he marched away from Guinevere and vigorously approached his servant. “You can’t do anything right, can you?!”

“Well if you didn’t throw your boot at me earlier, this wouldn’t have happened!” Merlin challenged the king as he rose to his feet and extended hand towards the discarded boot.

“Watch your mouth, or I’ll throw my sword at you next.” Arthur seethed and pointed to the mess on the floor. “Now clean this up before I return. I expect you to be at the tournament grounds by the time I arrive. Don’t be late.”

As Arthur spun around and made his way to the door, Guinevere called after him and chuckled. “Arthur, are you not forgetting something?”  

The king stopped and spun around. “You’re right, Guinevere. I _did_ forget something.” A menacing grin grew to his ears as he marched over to Merlin and whacked him in the head. Merlin inhaled a sharp breath and winced.

Perhaps he still hated his job from time to time.

“Arthur, don’t be so hard on him.” Guinevere gave Merlin a look of sympathy as she touched her husband’s arm. She then returned her attention to the king. “Need I remind you I, too, was once a servant? I know how hard it can be sometimes. Accidents _do_ happen.”

Arthur sighed. “You’re right, Guinevere. You are absolutely right.” He turned towards Merlin and folded his arms in front of him as if he was resisting temptation to wallop him again. “I’m sorry, Merlin.”

Merlin inwardly smirked. “Excuse me, what did you say?”

“You heard me.”

“Could you repeat it though? My ears are still ringing from when you struck me a few moments ago.” Merlin pointed to his ears and couldn’t help himself from grinning.

Guinevere chuckled and shook her head as Arthur inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Merlin?”

Merlin’s eyebrows lifted. “You want me to shut up, don’t you?”

“Precisely.” Arthur smacked Merlin’s shoulder.

As the king turned away, Merlin glanced at the boot in Guinevere’s hands and then exclaimed, “But,” his voice caused Arthur to turn around again, “if I shut up, Sire, I wouldn’t be able to tell you that you’re about to walk out of this room with only one boot.”

Arthur looked down at his feet as Gwen made her way to her husband, laughing as she handed the king his boot. “Right,” Arthur pressed his lips together as he tossed the boot to Merlin. “Well, I suspect you have enough wit in that clumsy mind of yours to remember how to put my boot back on my foot.”

“But do you?” Merlin couldn’t help himself.

“Excuse me?” Arthur blinked.

“I’ll,” Guinevere nervously laughed, “I’ll wait for you outside, Arthur.”

As she disappeared, Merlin placed his hands on his hips and challenged the king. “You heard me.”

“You don’t think I can put on my own boot?” Arthur let out a laugh. “You must be joking.”

“Really?” Merlin was enjoying this moment. “Because I’ve never seen you put one on before.”

Arthur snatched his boot away from Merlin and dropped it onto the floor. “You must think me a fool if you don’t think I can do such a simple task.” Arthur tried slipping his foot into his boot, but he kept squishing the leather down towards the floor. He released a frustrated breath as Merlin restrained himself from laughing at the king. “Just give me a minute.” He bent down to straighten the boot up, but his armor got in the way. He managed to grab the rim of the boot after a couple of seconds, but as he tried sliding the shoe over his foot, he started hopping around the room. Little did the king know, he had to unlace the ankle gusset first before putting it on, but Merlin wasn’t going to be the one to tell Arthur that. He was having too much fun.

A loud clank of metal shook the warlock from his reverie, and the next thing he knew, Arthur was flat against the floor. “Merlin!” the king yelled loudly.

Merlin scampered over to Arthur and suppressed his laugh. “Yes, sire?” He chuckled a little with a smile from ear to ear.

“Shut up.” Arthur barked and then added, “Help me up and put on my boot. Now.”

“Right away, sire.” Merlin pressed his lips together and unlaced Arthur’s boot before sliding it over his foot. He secured the laces and then helped the king back to his feet. “Just admit it, Arthur.” Merlin proudly stood up and rested his fists on his hips, “you wouldn’t be able to survive a day without me.”

“Oh, shut up.” Arthur smacked him hard in the arm.

Merlin grumbled and rubbed his shoulder. “Anything else I can do for you, sire?”

“Clean up the mess you made and then report to me at the tournament grounds as soon as you can,” Arthur ordered as he hastily made his way to his chamber doors.

Merlin let out an exacerbated breath and gritted his teeth. “With pleasure, my lord.”

As Arthur pulled open the door, he turned to his manservant. “Oh, and Merlin?”

“Yes?”

Arthur shot a death glare towards the warlock. “Breathe a word of this incident to anyone, and I will execute you effective immediately.”

“Same old, same old.” Merlin sighed as the king left and then turned away from the door to clean up the mess he had made. Once he was sure Arthur was out of earshot, Merlin walked over to the vase and extended his hand towards it, muttering, “Feormian dust rénian.” On command, the water flowed back into the vase, and the flowers flew upward, returning to the vase as well as it landed on the table as though nothing had happened to it. Merlin clapped his hands together and made his way to the door. Just as he was about to leave, he stopped, spun around on his heels and pointed his palm at the flowers and whispered, “Blóstmar,” commanding the flowers to bloom as if they were fresh from the market. “There. That’s better,” Merlin nodded and then left the king and queen’s chamber, making his way to the tournament grounds.

**~ MERLIN ~**

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**WriterFreak001:**

In case you are not familiar with my work, I tend to write out trial chapters for my stories. If I get a satisfying response – reviews, favorites, alerts, etc. – I will continue. If I don’t, then I do not want to be wasting my time writing a story people will not read. So if you are curious to know how this story turns out, it is vitally important that you review/favorite/alert the first chapter. If I get a strong response by Wednesday(ish), I will consider writing the second chapter.

The spells / enchantments I have written / will write are from the Merlin Wikia page so they are legitimate.

For those of you who read my stories for _Scorpion_ (CBS), _Never Any Credit_ will not take away too much of my time for writing for _Scorpion_. :) So have no worries!!

Let me know what you think!


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